Ball at the manor
by HouseoftheBadger
Summary: Just a short one without any real plot. 7th year Marauders and there's a ball on Potter Manor. Obviously James has invited Lily to be his date for the evening. This includes gentleman!James and dancing. Lily's POV for once
**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter**

It was the 23rd of December 1977 and it was snowing outside. England was covered in a thick layer of white snow and even more was calmly falling from the dark sky. In a hole in the cloud layer you could see the moon, which was not yet full but close to. It would be full in two nights. The trees outside Potter Manor were covered in fairy lights and so were parts of the manor house. Marshall Lights were framing the stoned path that lead from the big gate to the big entrance of the house. Short said, it was picturing the perfect Christmas night.

From the inside of the house laughter and light came. The ball room was filled with Christmas decorations and people. The Potters held their annual Christmas ball. Usually it would be held on the 24th of December, but since the full moon will be soon, they had decided to hold it now instead so the son of the house's best friend Remus Lupin would be able to attend.

The ball room was even more crowded than it usually was during these balls since the Potters had decided to invite quite a few of the students of Hogwarts to it, except the usual ones. Around ten students from James Potter's year at Hogwarts – 7th year – was attending the ball, including the Marauders (obviously since both James and Sirius lived there), James' girlfriend Lily Evans, those of them that always were invited such as Emelié Benoit and Marlene McKinnon, and a few others.

* * *

They were only here for the day and night. The Marauders and Lily all would spend their last Christmas during their Hogwarts career at the school, but they had Flooed to Potter Manor just for today and half of tomorrow.  
When they had arrived the Marauders all had been amused over Lily's reaction. She had obviously never been at the manor before seeing as she had hated James until this very year, but the shock had been bigger since she had known James was rich, but she hadn't known that he was this rich. The room with the Floo fireplace was pretty modest, there wasn't much in there except the fireplace and a couch, and the second pair of stairs that led to James' part of the house – and a lot of protection spells since you never knew who could come through. So at first Lily hadn't been very impressed, it wasn't even a big room. But as soon as they opened the door to the Floo room she had gasped. It wasn't even one of the most expensive and elegant rooms in the house, but Remus knew all too well how overwhelmed he had been over James' wealth and home when he visited the first time – even though he was the only one of the three. Sirius had grown up with these kinds of things and Peter wasn't rich, but he was a pureblood and his family was well-respected so he had been in his fair share of rich homes.

The ball room was, as earlier mentioned, filled with people. Not only people, but a lot of art and statues, both wizard and muggle. Mrs Potter was a great art enthusiast and had bought every muggle painting by a painter she liked immediately when Remus had gotten her in touch with muggle art when he visited over summer between 1st and 2nd year. Because of his mother's love of art James had since an early age been practically forced into loving art too, and knew a whole lot about it. Not that he ever mentioned it at school. He had a reputation to uphold.

* * *

Lily was standing next to her date, James of course, and listening on him talking with the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was a little bit shocked, never having seen him like this before. He was talking about the new laws about something even Lily didn't have the strength to care about, and he succeeded to look interested. Lily could see the small signs that he was bored to death, but she was perfectly sure that Mr Fawley didn't see it. She only did because she had known him for almost seven years.  
Lily sighed in relief when she saw Sirius and his new mother, Mrs Potter, come walking toward them, talking about something. She had been very surprised at first when she learned that Sirius called Mr and Mrs Potter 'mum and dad' but it had looked so perfectly natural that she now, after only a few hours, didn't even question it a little. Mrs Potter smiled pleasantly towards Mr Fawley before turning to her and James.  
"James, no one is dancing. Why don't you invite Lily to dance? Sirius has promised to join you."

James seemed grateful over the possibility to leave the conversation politely – another shock since the James at Hogwarts probably just would've told the person that the conversation was boring him and left – and nodded.  
"Do I get the honour, Miss Evans?" he asked Lily and bowed whereupon Sirius left to invite a girl from Beauxbatons to dance. Lily looked at him, unsure.  
"I can't dance." She told him and he smirked.  
"Oh, that's not problem. The wizard leads and I happen to be an excellent dancer. Not as good as Sirius, of course, but excellent." He added after some thought.  
She looked at him, surprised.  
"You can?" she asked and he laughed.  
"Of course I can. I'm a well-bred pureblood gentleman, after all. Even though my parents don't care much for such things it still involved learning how to dance. I've had lessons since I was eight. Sirius has had them since he was four."  
Lily stared. Four? That was just weird. Who taught a four-year-old to dance? But of course, why was she surprised? She had been told about how horrible the Blacks were, both by others and by the Marauders themselves. Finally she nodded.  
"Yes, I'll dance with you, Mr Potter." She answered with a teasing smile. She curtsied and took his arm and he led her out on the dance floor at the same time Sirius got there with his partner – a blonde girl in lovely white dress robes. Lily herself wore an emerald green muggle ball dress her mother had sent her.

She heard snickers and whispers from the kids from Hogwarts who never had been at this kind of event before, and she was ninety percent sure that she heard someone say:  
"Potter and Black are going to give us a show."

She saw James smirk toward Sirius, knowing they both had heard it too. Their schoolmates probably expected both of them to do something goofy that they could laugh at, but from what she had seen tonight and if what James told her about dancing lessons was true, they would get shocked.

The orchestra began to play a slow but lively song and James bowed once again, at the exact moment that Sirius did. It was surprising. The earlier bow had been kind of a joke, but this time both he and Sirius looked like they stood in front of the queen herself. Lily curtsied gawkily and took the hand he was offering, letting him place her hands on the right places. Then she took some steps, trying to follow him.  
"Shhh, Flower." He whispered with a smile. "Just follow my lead and this will go perfectly. Dancing is easy."  
"Easy for you to say, Potter." She replied slightly nervous, but feeling more at ease when she heard his familiar teasing comments.  
At first it was hard, but after a while she followed him quite well and had real fun. Lily laughed happily and James smiled at her happiness.  
"And a twirl." Was all he said and she didn't even have time to protest before she found herself twirling before falling back into his arms. "Perfectly done, my love. If I hadn't been so jealous you could do this for a living – dancing with different wizards."  
Lily smiled back.

"Luckily for you I don't have interests in dancing with other wizards. But you better be good, or I might change my mind."  
She cast a glance over to Sirius, who was twirling over the dance floor with the blonde. They both really did it expertly, and Sirius had a face of happiness she hadn't seen before. James looked over there too.  
"Ah, yes. Sirius loves to dance." He smiled. "He just doesn't get the possibility to do it often. There aren't many balls at Hogwarts, after all. I think that's one of the few things he's glad that his blood-parents taught him how to do."

Sirius blood-parents, Mr and Mrs Black. That was how they were referred to. Sirius' parents, on the other side, were Mr and Mrs Potter. She had learned how correct it was when James and Sirius called each other 'brothers', because that was what they were. She had heard it before, but she hadn't really understood it before she befriended Sirius how blood didn't matter much. Family wasn't blood, family was love. The people who loved and cared for you were your family, not the person who had given birth to you. But now it seemed obvious.

The dance was soon over, and when she looked at the people standing next to the dance floor looking at them she smirked – they looked so shocked over how great the two ringleaders of the Marauders were at dancing – but they danced a few more, and soon the dance floor was filled with people dancing. When Lily finally was tired (James was more fit than her seeing as he was a star-Quidditch-player, meanwhile she often played football and basketball during the holidays. She didn't get much physical training at Hogwarts) they left the dance floor and went to go talk with Remus and Peter. Both had danced, but the full moon was soon so Remus didn't have much energy to dance and Peter was a bit clumsy so he had only danced two dances. They talked and laughed and watched Sirius float over the dance floor with his different partners until he too decided to finally join them on the side.

* * *

 **One year later**  
The next time Lily and James danced together for real, not those wonderful dances around the common room at Hogwarts, or an apartment (first the Marauders' or Lily and Marlene's, then Lily and James') but real dancing, was at their wedding feast.  
The orchestra was playing the same song as the one they had been dancing to on the Christmas ball in 7th year, before they left Hogwarts and joined the war, back when everything was perfect, and they weren't warriors in a war, ready to fight or die, or lose someone you loved, anytime. But even though not much had been perfect since they left Hogwarts and joined the real world, this was. The unreality over being married to Lily Evans, no, Lily Potter, James thought with a triumph that made him feel dizzy of happiness, was incredible. But gazing into her green, mischievous eyes he knew it was real. She was his, and he was her's. For the rest of their lives, and beyond that.

"Well?" Lily asked, smiling just as happy as him. "Are you going to ask me to dance or will I have to do it myself?"  
James chuckled and bowed, and she took his arm and followed him out on the dance floor. Around them all the guests of the wedding stood, but right now they weren't there. Only he and Lily existed when they began to dance their wedding waltz.  
"You really are an excellent dancer, Mr Potter." Lily said.  
"So are you, Miss E… Mrs Potter." James replied, delighted over the sound of it. Mrs Lily Potter. He could definitely get used to that.

* * *

 **Review!**

 **Well, I was just thinking about the headcannons about Sirius being a fantastic dancer - since he is a Black and was the Heir (I don't really know why but I always write Heir with capital H when it is about the Blacks) - and this was what happened. I've been wanting to write something like this for a while actually, but not succeeded until now. I hope you enjoyed it, even though it was short and without any real plot. :)**


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